1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to speech processing technology and in particular to controlling device functionality by using speech processing technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital Video Recorders (such as those from Television Input Video Output (“TIVO”) Inc.) are devices that typically record broadcasted television programs on a hard-disk based on a pre-configured schedule. This enables a television viewer to watch the recorded television programs at a later time or save them for repeated viewings. Typically, DVR devices provide a menu-driven graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on the television screen where the user can use a remote control device to select channels and television programs and set up the DVR to record the selected television programs when the programs are being broadcasted. Users can typically search for programs by genre, by name of the program, by days/times the program is broadcast, by keyword or by the names of the actors appearing in the program. Once the viewer has set up the channels and programs to record, the “recording pattern” is saved in the DVR hard-disk. The DVR automatically records the programs when these programs are broadcasted by the television stations.
Currently, there is no way to modify the currently stored DVR recording patterns based on user feedback. DVRs provide no efficient way/feature to modify an already stored recording pattern. The only way to change the previously stored recording pattern on the DVR is to navigate through the GUI and manually set up the programs to record or delete programs to record, which is a cumbersome process that is generally avoided by users. As a result the DVR hard drive may often get filled up with programs that the user has no desire to watch.
While watching a television program, a viewer may typically say phrases to fellow viewers such as “I love this program”, “This is a bad TV show” or “This is a boring movie”. Once the program ends, a viewer's level of appreciation for a program represented by words/phrases may typically be forgotten and lost, and the DVR recording patterns remains the same unless the user takes manual steps to modify the pattern.
Audience Measurement Systems provide a practical application of verbal feedback. Audience Measurement Systems measure how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listeners and television viewers. Audience Measurement helps broadcasters determine how many people are watching or listening to a certain television or radio program. This allows broadcasters to gauge the “popularity” of particular television or radio programs (also known as the “rating”). This information is very useful for advertisers who wish to advertise products in a way that exposes the advertisements to the maximum number of viewers/listeners.
Conventional methods used for audience measurement only provide broadcasters with an indication of how many people were watching/listening to a particular program. These conventional methods do not reflect whether viewers actually liked or disliked a show/radio program. Many times when a multi-episodic program is in the beginning stages of the program's run, many viewers tune into the early episodes, leading to high ratings. However, if the viewers do not like the program, a relatively lower number of viewers will watch (or listen to) the program in the later weeks, which triggers a big drop in ratings. Knowing the “like” rating of a show/program may be useful for predicting the future ratings of these programs. Current systems are unable to provide useful feedback on the “like” rating of a program that may allow a broadcaster to predict a potential ratings drop and take action accordingly. Currently, there is no automatic way to modify the recording patterns based on verbal feedback.